


Fake It 'til You Make It

by thoughtsappear



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Meta, Russian Skate Fam, Social Media, Speed Dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 20:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12441618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtsappear/pseuds/thoughtsappear
Summary: Yuri is getting really tired of being fixed up by Mila, Georgi and Victor. He invents a fake relationship to get them off his back, but it has real effects.





	Fake It 'til You Make It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thisiseclair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiseclair/gifts).



> This was written for eclair as my 200 follower giveaway prize. I loved the prompt, and I hope I did it justice. :)
> 
> Also, major thanks to voxane and tootsonnewts for looking this over and adding helpful comments and suggestions. You two are the bees knees!

Yuri was going to kill Mila. He was going to make it look like an accident. He was going to put sugar in her gas tank, he was gonna drop her Naked pallette on the floor and let it shatter. He was gonna put self-tanner in her moisturiser (again).

He was going to---

“Yura!” the hag screeched, taking him by the bicep - Baba was incredibly strong. He rubbed his arm, he could already tell he might be feeling it later. 

“I signed you up for this, and I bought you the two obligatory drinks,” Mila was holding two tickets between her fingers. “Don’t waste my money.”

She handed him a small card with 21 lines on it and a tiny golf pencil. “Be nice, and have fun.”

She plunked him down on a bar stool across from a red faced girl who gave him a shy smile. Yuri tried not to grimace. He could feel Baba’s talons sink into his shoulders as she backed away. She hissed into his ear. “Smile!”

_Ding!_ The chime of a bell caught the crowd’s attention and everyone looked to the woman at the front of the room.

“Hi everybody, welcome to Sporty Singles speed dating night. My name is Molly,” she waved. “If you’ve never done speed dating before it’s super fun and super fast.”

Yuri hated her already. She was way too excited, and that smile was extremely forced. He didn’t know what was worse, people who were naturally this cheerful, or the ones who tried to fake it.

“On your card there are spaces for each single here tonight. After your date, write down the name of anyone you liked, and we’ll match you for a second date. Each date is three minutes long, so you won’t have much time. Enjoy yourselves. When you hear the ding, it’s on to the next date.”

She smiled. “Servers will come around to take your drink orders. Everybody have fun.”

“Ready, set, date!”

She rang the bell again and started the large clock on the wall. Yuri watched it tick down for a few seconds before he remembered the girl squirming across from him. He wondered if he looked as uncomfortable as she did.

“Hi,” she finally said. 

“Hey,” he replied, crossing his legs. 

“Did someone put you up to this too?” he asked.

The girl looked embarrassed but then she nodded her head. “My mother.”

Yuri sighed. “What do we do?”

“Talk about yourself?” She shrugged. A waiter dropped off his vodka tonic and her martini. 

“My name is Yuri, I’m 19, I’m a professional ice skater--”

“Like Victor Nikiforov?”

Yuri rolled his eyes. The most famous asshole in skating. Of course she would mention him. 

“No, not like Victor.”

“Do you know Victor?” she asked. 

“He’s my coach,” Yuri replied with a grimace. He watched his date’s eyes light up and he knew he was doomed. 

Yuri reached across the table and took a long swallow of his drink as his “date” immediately began asking him everything about Victor’s last season, his training, his records and his new coaching career. Of all the bars in all the cities he had to find the one Victor stan.

_Ding!_

After 21 dates and two drinks, Yuri never wanted to talk about himself again. He’d explained that the Ice Capades was not a thing anymore about ten times already. He’d spent at least three dates talking about Victor and Yuuri. He’d spent another few dates talking about how he was able to tie and still get Gold at the last Russian Nationals. He spent another date talking about her job, and yet another talking about the weather. Baba wouldn’t let him bail though. She marched him up to the front to the talk to the woman in charge. 

“Okay, so there were 6 people that wrote your name down,” Molly said, sorting through the sheets. “I can only give you the names of the people that you wrote down as well.” 

“Six!” Mila was far too excited. She shook his elbow and smiled that shit eating grin. 

“How many names did you write down?” Molly asked, reaching for his sheet. 

Yuri showed her his blank paper. Both Mila and Molly looked at him and frowned. 

“You’re going back next week,” Mila said, squeezing his arm in a threatening manner. 

Yuri grabbed his glass of vodka and finished it. 

==

Dinner at Georgi’s was usually the highlight of his week. Georgi was dating a new woman, Marta, an aspiring pastry chef. Between Georgi’s cooking and Marta’s desserts Yuri was always over on his macros, but damn it was always worth it. After a disastrous weekend and that stupid speed dating, Yuri was looking forward to stuffing his face with puff pastry and sausage.

Georgi had texted him that morning, telling him to wear something nice to dinner. That wasn’t a completely unreasonable request. Georgi often had rich friends over for dinner. Yuri might grumble about being forced to change out of his cheetah print boxers and over sized metallica tee, but he took the opportunity to wear the new ripped black jeans and tight v-neck he’d bought at ASOS.

When he arrived at Georgi’s he knew they were up to something. Georgi and Marta cornered him in the kitchen, and they were both being extremely nice to him. Georgi made a big deal about asking him to set the table, and to make sure to note the place settings. Yuri found his name written in calligraphy on a card like they were at a wedding or something. 

It was about then that a knock came at the door, and Georgi sprinted to answer. He fussed loudly at the guest and then walked in a young man. He looked about Mila’s age, with neatly trimmed brown hair and a thick gold watch on one wrist. He smelled like expensive cologne and sat down next to Yuri at the table.

“Yuri, this is my nephew Vadim,” Marta said, as she served the wine. 

“Sure, fine,” Yuri barely acknowledged. He was already invested in Georgi’s shrimp and rice pilaf. 

Marta and Georgi did their best to force them to talk, but Yuri kept his focus on the food, and Vadim asked questions that Yuri could answer with short noncommittal answers.

“Yura,” Georgi said, casting a sideways glance at Marta. “I need help in the kitchen with the meat course. Would you mind?”

Yuri was confused by the request, but he did as he was asked, and clomped into the kitchen behind Georgi. Georgi pulled the meat out of the oven and turned his attention to Yuri.

“You need to be nicer to Vadim,” he said, putting his hands on his hips. 

“Nicer?” Yuri asked. He glanced towards the dining room with a scowl. “I’ve been plenty nice.”

“Vadim just came out to his family, and most of them have not been very supportive. Marta thought that if you two could meet, you could show him that it’s okay. He saw your picture and thought you were very attractive.”

Georgi stuck a meat thermometer into the roast and paused. “Maybe you could take him out sometime.”

Yuri grabbed at the sharpest implement in his vicinity, Georgi’s carving fork. “Fuck, Georgi, when will you and Baba just stop with this shit!?”

Georgi calmly unwrapped his fingers from around the fork and plunged it into the hunk of meat on his counter. “We’re just trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help,” Yuri said, frowning. 

“When’s the last time you went on a date?” Georgi asked.

“I don’t have time to date, I’m a gold medalist and a world champion.” Yuri folded his arms over his chest.

Georgi sighed and began slicing. “You know who else talked like that?”

Yuri brushed his hair out of his eyes and grabbed a slice off the carving board. He knew the answer, and he knew that Georgi knew. But that certainly wasn’t going to stop him from telling him anyway.

“Victor. And Victor was one of the most unhappy, depressed people I have ever known.” Georgi slapped Yuri’s hand away as he tried for another taste. 

“It wasn’t until he met Yuuri that he truly realized what really matters in life. You see, Yura--”

Yuri stopped listening. He nodded at the appropriate times and promised he would make an effort with Vadim.

Apparently the effort was too much, because after dinner, the dessert and then a few games around Georgi’s fireplace, Vadim had gotten some ideas.

He insisted on walking Yuri home, even though Yuri had told him several times he didn’t need an escort. He lingered outside the door while Yuri unlocked it. Yuri looked up from the doorknob to see that Vadim had leaned in expectantly, with closed eyes and pursed lips.

Yuri gasped, blurted out a quick goodnight and squeezed past him to slip inside, locking and chaining the door. He was staying in Victor’s apartment, while the two disgusting assholes spent their summer in Japan. 

He hadn’t even gotten his shoes off and turned on all the lights before he received a text from Georgi asking when they could all get together for another double date. Yuri groaned, put his phone on do not disturb and made his way into Victor’s master bathroom. He started the water, and dug through Victor’s box of fancy bath oils. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

After his bath he felt better, but he was still bothered by the whole situation. After doing some yoga, and listening to some music Victor liked to call “that awful screaming” he felt like he could return to the real world. He decided to check his phone. He didn’t want to deal with the messages he had from Georgi, but he did have a new one from Otabek. 

_Otabek: when you have a minute, can I send you a clip of the music from my new free program?_

Yuri grinned and happily replied. Otabek always seemed to know just what to say. 

==

“Yura!” Victor’s voice sounded especially loud through the Skype window. He was spending the summer with Yuuri’s family in Japan, but insisted on Skype video call “coaching” sessions once a week. They were mostly so he could check in on Yuri and make sure he was taking good care of the place. Yuri was keeping the place spotless; it was worth it - Victor had cable, and the local grocery store had his credit card on file. 

“Yuuri and I will be home in just a few weeks. And you see Yuuri has this cousin. She’s never been to Russia and she needs someone to show her St. Petersburg. She’s just your age. I thought maybe you’d like to take her out.”

Yuri knew a trap when he was being led into one. This was a set-up and a pretty pathetic one at best. He pretended to be busy, and put his laptop down on the kitchen counter as he tried to think of a good reason to say no. He turned his back to Victor as he poured himself a glass of water to stall for time.

“Yura?”

“I can’t, I’ve just started seeing someone.”

“Who?” 

Yuri scrambled for a name. He hadn’t thought this plan all the way through and he should have known Victor would need all the details. He stayed out of Victor’s sight as he felt around in his pocket and grabbed his phone. It was still open to his Instagram.

The first thing he saw was the picture he’d posted of Potya. It wasn’t much help until he looked down at the notifications.

_**otabek-altin liked this** _

“Otabek!” he replied. Was his voice always this loud?

“Oh really?” Victor sounded skeptical. 

“Yep,” Yuri tried his best to seem casual. “It’s new, it just started. We didn’t want to tell anyone until it was...official.”

He was already composing a very convoluted explanation text he could send to Beka before he got the e-vite to their engagement party. Victor was ruthless. Victor would take something like this and run with it. But it would mean Yuri’d get a break from set-ups and blind dates for the near future.

“So does that mean it’s finally happened?” Victor’s voice was rising. “My son has finally grown up.”

“You may be old enough to be my dad, but you aren’t,” Yuri said with a scowl. “Just be cool, Beka doesn’t want it to be a big deal. He’s very private.”

“Of course not, Yurio. I wouldn’t dream of upsetting _Beka._ ” Victor was shaking his head when Yuri finally sat back down in front of the laptop. He made Yuri go over his training schedule and his meal plan, and then made him sit down with Yuuri to talk about his new boyfriend. It was the absolute worst.

It wasn’t until he’d finished talking to Victor, cooked himself a small dinner, washed and dried the dishes and flopped down on Victor’s leather sofa, that he remembered what he’d done again. He grimaced and pulled out his phone.

_Yuri: sorry I told Victor u were my bf_

He supposed the most basic explanation would be the best.

_Otabek: Why?_

That was not the reaction Yuri was expecting. It was better than an all caps shout. It was better than a middle finger emoji. It was better than having his number blocked.

_Yuri: he wanted me to take fatso’s cousin on a date_

Otabek didn’t reply for a moment and Yuri started to worry again. Maybe Otabek was mad? 

_Otabek: What do you want me to do?_

_Yuri: if anybody asks we’re dating_

He let his finger hover over the keyboard. He wanted to send another message, explaining that Otabek didn’t need to go along with it, that it was just Yuri’s gut reaction after being hassled by Baba, Georgi and Victor and he would gladly tell Victor the truth if Otabek wasn’t comfortable.

_Otabek: Okay._

Okay? This was easier than he thought. He sat his phone down beside him and made himself comfortable. Potya curled up at his feet and he was wrapped in one of those fuzzy blankets Yuuri kept on every chair. Piggy was always cold. He’d just settled in to watch something on Victor’s giant widescreen tv, when his phone started buzzing again. 

_Baba: WTF! Vitya just said you and otabek are dating? Why didn’t you tell me yuraaaa!!_

Nothing about this was going to be easy. 

==

Yuri woke up the next morning to a bunch of texts, tags, notifications and missed phone calls. Baba had run her big fat mouth and apparently the entire 2018 olympic figure skating group chat had blown up with the news that the “Ice Tiger and the Dark Horse” were dating. He had several people tweeting about him, gossip columnists, and the Yuri’s Angels had collectively lost their mind.

“It’s so cute Yuraaaa,” Mila told him at practice that day. She cornered him when he was trying to catch his breath between speed runs of the rink. With Victor out, he spend his ice time a lot more focused on elements than perfecting choreography or cleaning up jumps.

“You have a couple name,” she told him, pulling her sparkly pink phone out of her practice bag and skating it over to him. “It’s Otayuri!”

Yuri stared at the picture _yurisangel2004_ had posted of him and Otabek at the latest GPF. They’d been sitting together during practice, and Yuri had leaned over to whisper that JJ’s quad lutz looked sloppy. Otabek’s face was neutral, but the slightest curve to his lip suggested he might be smiling.

**yurisangel2004** OMG can’t believe these 2 R finally a couple!! #yuri plisetsky #otabek altin #boyfriends #ishippeditbeforeitwascool #otayuri #goldenbfs #couplegoals

Mila knew better than to actually let him hold her phone, and she zoomed away when he grabbed at it. An otterbox couldn’t stand up to Yuri throwing an iPhone across a skating rink. Seeing that picture, of something so innocuous used to make them look like more than just best friends made Yuri want to rage. 

Even though it was infuriating, it was rather genius. Yuri had a phone full of pictures of himself and Otabek through the past couple years. He could so easily post a photo of the two of them and make an announcement or tag Victor in it, and he’d really believe the ruse. 

He finished up his practice, and took a shower before walking to Victor and Yuuri’s. He was heating up some leftovers and stroking a happy Potya when his phone started buzzing again.

It was Victor, tweeting about him and using the otayuri tag. 

**Victor Nikiforov-Katsuki** @v-nikiforov 2m

So happy for @yuriplisetsky and @otabek-altin. Nobody shipped them more than me! #sohappyformyson #otayuri #secondcutestscouple

Yuri groaned and shoved a spoonful of fried rice into his mouth. He was tempted to block his coach, but he knew that only had potential to backfire exponentially. Instead he closed twitter, turned off notifications and opened up his texts. 

_Yuri: sorry in adv. Victor is back on his bullshit_

_Otabek: My rinkmate follows Mila on twitter. She’s been ruthless._

_Yuri: lets just throw them a bone. Get everyone off my ass._

He attached a picture of the two of them. It was taken about 6 months ago, at Chris’s birthday party. They were both drinking champagne, and Otabek was grinning at something off camera (probably Chris making an ass of himself) Yuri was grinning at Otabek. Baba had taken it and refused to let him delete it, saying they were cute.

_Yuri: post this on instagram as a tbt and say something about how much you miss your boyfriend._

Otabek didn’t respond, but about an hour later there was his post.

**otabek-altin** missing my boyfriend, yuri plisetsky. #tbt #yuri #boyfriend #misshim

Yuri posted his own copy of the photo.

**yuri-plisetsky** I miss this asshole! #tbt #beka #boyfriends #cantwait #mine #sexy #hearthim #couplegoals #tigerbear #otayuriisastupidname

#otayuri continued to trend despite all of Yuri’s efforts to derail it. He even found himself guilty of using it for more likes. 

Having Otabek as a fake boyfriend made things a lot easier once Victor and Tubby returned from Japan. They were so excited and happy for him that they offered to buy his ticket to Almaty for Otabek’s birthday. They also left him alone about dating and gave him more privacy when he skyped with Beka. It was such a good idea, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t done it sooner. 

All he had to do to maintain the lie was post a picture or a staged text convo a few times a month, and Baba ate it up. Yuri was a little nervous about what would happen when they saw each other in person again, and how it would affect competition season. It would be hard to put on an act for everyone around them when he was so focused on training. 

_Yuri: We need to talk about breaking up._

_Otabek: But Yura, I can change!_

==

Yuri was scrutinizing the pile of black t-shirts he’d assembled. He needed to pack for four days and three nights in Almaty, and he needed to have the perfect outfit for every occasion. He also needed to have options. A black shirt with a tiger’s head or a black shirt with a lion’s head? Better bring both. He shoved in three pairs of sneakers, five pairs of jeans and dumped in enough socks and underwear to last the entire trip. He was struggling to zip up the suitcase, when his phone chimed from under the pile of t-shirts he hadn’t packed. Yuri took the opportunity for a break, and gave up on his packing for now. 

_Otabek: How serious is our fake relationship?_

_Otabek: Can we fake see other people?_

Yuri paused with his finger above the typing window. It had been fun joking about it. But the idea of Otabek out with someone else made him feel a little bothered. It must have taken him too long to reply because Otabek sent yet another text. He never triple texted.

_Otabek: One of my rinkmates asked me to go to her cousin’s wedding. As her fake boyfriend._

_Yuri: idk. what if baba sees?? maybe say ur freinds?_

_Yuri: u can’t fake cheat on me._

Yuri put his phone face down on his bedspread and went to do a handstand against his wall. Yuri liked to do something physical when he felt overwhelmed, and handstand pushups were his favorite thing lately. Especially since they made Victor green with envy, since he’d never been able to master a handstand through his entire career. 

It wasn’t until he heard his phone buzz that he kicked off the wall and sat down. The blood was rushing from his head and he felt lightheaded and dizzy. He reached for his phone and stared at it for a moment, trying to get his reflexes back so that he could input his lock code.

_Otabek: remember what you said, that we needed to break up in front of Mila? Before the GPF?_

Yuri knew instantly what he was getting at. They wouldn’t be in the same city until Otabek’s birthday party. 

_Yuri: I’m not breaking up with you on your birthday._

_Otabek: right after. And then she’ll be so sad for you and you can really milk the wounded heart so that will keep all of them from setting you up for at least a few months._

Yuri read the message at least five times. Damn, Otabek was a freaking genius. Always thinking of what would be best for him. This fake relationship was turning out better than he could ever have planned. He was a little surprised Otabek was ready to break up though, he’d supposed they could have ridden this lie all the way to the end of the year.

_Yuri: k_

==

“Happy birthday!” Mila chirped as Otabek and Yuri walked into the restaurant. Baba had made a huge deal about Otabek’s birthday. She had insisted on getting him a cake, and booking the hotel restaurant, and inviting everyone to his party. She asked Leo to send him a mix to play at the party and she decorated everything herself. Yuri felt a little embarrassed that Otabek was supposed to be his boyfriend and he had barely done anything to help. But Baba told him that by bringing him to the party and keeping him distracted he had done some important jobs. 

Baba tried in vain to jam one of those ridiculous party hats on his head, and Yuri gave her his best stare and crumpled it in his fist. She was more successful with Otabek, who allowed her to place the brightly colored hat on his head and stretch the rubber band under his chin. They gathered around the table and took their seats.

“A toast for the birthday boy!” Mila shouted as soon as Otabek took his place at the head of the table. Yuri could see from the slight pink in Otabek’s cheeks he felt a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. He preferred to shy away from the spotlight and let others take the attention. The waiters served everyone a fresh glass of champagne, and Mila made a big deal about toasting Otabek, then insisted Yuri do the same.

Yuri had no problem with being the center of attention, and he figured he was doing Otabek a favor by pulling everyone's focus. He took his time to pontificate and only stopped when he saw the look on Baba’s face. She looked ready to punch him.

Throughout dinner and much of what followed, Yuri found himself occupied with other people, talking to Otabek’s other friends and rinkmates, and he didn’t even think about the fact that he was supposed to be keeping up a facade. It wasn’t until they were singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles that he remembered.

“How ‘bout a kiss for the birthday boy?” Baba said, nudging him towards Otabek, who was licking a frosting rose off his thumb. Yuri froze and made eye contact with Otabek who was wearing his usual expression of indifference. There was red frosting on his upper lip. It relaxed Yuri, reminded him, this was just Beka, his friend, the guy whose cool exterior hid an inside full of awkward nerd.

He pushed through the small crowd surrounding Otabek and gave him a small tap. He looked at Otabek apologetically and tried to put his arms around him. Otabek looked at him strangely but allowed him to do so, until Yuri leaned toward him with eyes closed and his lips pursed. He knew he should have asked Beka before, but Mila put him on the spot. Hopefully Beka would understand.

But Otabek pulled away and handed him a piece of cake.

“Don’t you want a birthday kiss?” Yuri asked. Otabek’s lips were pursed, and the red icing looked almost like lipstick. He ran a napkin across his mouth and glanced at the small crowd beside him.

“Not right now.” Otabek placed a fork in Yuri’s hand, and he shoved a bite of cake in just so he had an excuse not to say anything else. 

They didn’t have another moment to speak to each other until later, after people were starting to leave and Yuri had been sent to the car to help Otabek pack up. He was shoving a bunch of balloons in Otabek’s back seat, when he heard footsteps behind him, and a pair of familiar arms in a leather jacket dropped off a few more boxes. 

“Beka, why didn’t you let me kiss you? It’s just fake.” Yuri pretended he didn’t hear the slight nervous shake in his own voice.

Otabek didn’t shy away from staring right at him. “I wouldn’t want our first kiss to be fake, Yura.”

He then turned back around and headed towards the building without saying another word, leaving Yuri there so dumbfounded he almost let go of the balloons he was holding. 

“Are you and Otabek fighting?” Baba asked, when she caught him coming out of the bathroom. Yuri couldn’t help but frown at the idea. They weren’t even supposed to fake breakup yet!

“No, why?” he asked.

“Ever since he wouldn’t let you kiss him, he’s seemed upset.”

“How can you even tell?” Yuri folded his arms across his chest. “We’re fine, you jealous hag.”

Baba grimaced, opened her mouth as if to reply, then sighed and pushed open the door to the ladies room. 

==

“You always do this whenever we fight!” Yuri shouted. They’d staged their fight to take place just outside Otabek’s bedroom, the night before Yuri and Mila were to return to St. Petersburg. Otabek had invited them over, along with some other friends. So far the group hang had been going well, and Yuri felt a little guilty disrupting it. At the same time, he had to stick to the plan. 

Yuri’s voice was exceptionally loud in the otherwise quiet apartment. Everyone else had gathered in the living room, and they’d gone silent. None of them would be so rude as to actually get up and intervene, but they would eavesdrop on every word. Which of course was what they wanted.

Otabek folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “You never listen to me.”

“You never _say_ anything! I have to make all the decisions, I have to plan everything, and you don’t put any effort into it. Sometimes I feel like I’m dating myself!” Yuri thought that was a nice touch. He was doing his best not to break a smile. Otabek’s face was clouded over, and his tone was even. Their voices carried in the empty hallway, and bounced off the bare walls. 

“You really think so?” Otabek raised an eyebrow. “I let you make all the decisions because if I did something wrong, you’d bitch about it until you got what you wanted anyway. You’re so full of yourself you might as well date yourself.”

That line had been Yuri’s idea.

“Maybe I will!” Yuri said with a stomp of his foot. “We never should have done this, it was stupid. We’re all wrong for each other anyway. We’re too different.”

Otabek paused there, and Yuri stared at him, waiting for his next line. He was supposed to say something else, and then Yuri was supposed to stalk off and slam the doors. Even in his fake arguments, Yuri wanted to make sure he got the last word. It was going to be so dramatic and awesome.

Otabek was really milking the silence, so much that Yuri glanced around behind him to make sure no one was peeking in on their very _private_ moment. No one was, and he even heard movement in the kitchen, as if their guests were doing their best to appear like they didn’t notice the loud altercation happening within earshot.

Otabek let out a little sigh. “We _are_ too different... I just..I can’t do this, Yura.”

Yuri was stunned when Otabek turned and walked down the hall to his bedroom. The look on his face lifted for a moment, and he looked a little sad. He’d gone off book by leaving, and Yuri was still keyed up and raring to let out his next angry line. Instead he deflated, letting out a deep breath and wondering what to do next. Otabek had retreated and taken his exit early, and Yuri didn’t feel as justified in storming off and slamming the bathroom door.

Instead, he took a couple deep breaths and walked into the kitchen, where Baba was pouring a glass of wine. As soon as she saw him, she offered it to him, and asked if he wanted to talk about it.

“No,” he said, taking a long drink. He followed her back into the living room, and she made him a spot on the couch. They took turns glancing at Otabek’s closed door. 

She didn’t try to talk to him about it for the rest of the night. It was the gift that kept on giving.

==

Everything went perfectly to plan. The next day Yuri posted something cryptic on his twitter and Otabek said nothing. Yuri went home. Three days later, just as they’d discussed, Yuri changed his status on facebook to single. Otabek took down their last couple-y picture from his Instagram. 

He had three texts in less than twenty minutes. 

“I need space,” Yuri said anytime they tried to get him to talk about it. “It’s too raw.”

It was awesome. Yuuri and Victor seemed to think he was too fragile to practice early, and let him sleep in a few mornings. Mila was real sweet and stopped tweeting about “otayuri” and brought him some cute tiger plushies. Georgi invited him to dinner, and when he said he wasn’t feeling up to it, he sent over a dozen cupcakes and enough leftovers to feed him for a week.

Everything was great. 

Except for Otabek. Yuri had blocked him on twitter and instagram to keep up appearances. Despite the fact that Otabek rarely posted there, he did miss seeing his presence. He didn’t realize how much seeing _**otabek-altin liked this** _ made him happy.

They were barely talking. Usually they texted a couple times a day, short little snippets about their day, or a picture after practice. But Otabek wasn’t doing that. His responses to Yuri’s attempts to engage him were clipped, impersonal. They’d been talking so much about their fake relationship that the sudden lack of communication left Yuri feeling uneasy.

He was actually starting to miss Beka. Was this what a real breakup felt like? Yuri had never actually dated anyone. It really sucked. All he wanted to do was lie around in his sweatpants and eat ice cream. No wonder Mila always gained about five pounds after some dude-bro dumped her. 

Georgi was still sending him “inspirational” quotes. He’d amassed quite the collection after ending 17 relationships in the last five years. 

_Embrace the pain. Steer into the curve._

_It is better to have loved and lost, then never have loved at all._

Georgi really liked that one. He’d texted it to Yuri about twice a week. Yuri had to admit, that when he actually got him to stop quoting bullshit, he was a good listener.

==

Mila had him over for a girl’s night. He objected at first, then gave in when she sent him a snapchat of all the booze she was buying. While she opened wine in the kitchen, she gave him her phone to pick some music to listen to.

Her instagram was open. He was going to close it when he saw a few familiar words on the picture.

**tamarabandar** me and my handsome date at my cousin Lidiya’s wedding @otabek-altin #wedding #truelove #wecleanupnice #almaty

It was Otabek’s rinkmate, wearing a very short, very tight pink dress, with Otabek standing beside her. He was wearing a suit and silver tie with a baby pink pocket square. She towered over him in her heels, but they looked nice together.

He stared at it so long he was startled when Mila walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder. She let out a gasp and gave him a wounded look. 

“I’m sorry Yura,” she said. “I didn’t want you to see that.”

“It’s fine,” Yuri replied, handing her back the phone. “They’re just friends.”

The words felt hollow. 

==

“It’s time to move on,” Victor said. He said it like he hadn’t spent months mooning over Piggy back in 2016. Piggy had just danced with him at a banquet, Otabek had been Yuri’s best friend for years. He was allowed a little time to mourn. The fake relationship wasn’t supposed to affect their real friendship.

Victor waved his phone. “I know at least three--”

Yuri raised his hand. “Stop right now. I don’t want to be set up with anyone.”

“Okay fine, but you need to realize that for some people, you’re never going to be “just friends.” You two were never just friends. You were in love with each other since he came and swept you off your feet at fifteen. We were just waiting for you to realize it.”

Yuri stared at the place where Victor’s hair was starting to thin. It was easier than dealing with what Victor was saying. He liked to part his hair to cover it up, but Yuri knew exactly where to look. It always made Victor uncomfortable. Victor brushed his hands through his hair, just as Yuri knew he would. 

“I miss him,” Yuri admitted. “I thought we could go back to the way things were.”

Victor ruffled his hair, in that way he’d been doing since he was a foot shorter. There were some things that Victor would never stop doing, even if Yuri threatened to punch him and scowled at him every time.

“I don’t know, Yurio. Maybe you should tell him that?”

==

Yuri threw himself into practice. It was the best way to keep himself excited and motivated for the upcoming season. It was the best way to keep himself occupied when he got a little lonely or when he found himself thinking too hard about what Victor had said. All the things people had said about shipping them, how in love they seemed, how happy they were; most of that was in reference to things that had happened before they started faking the relationship. 

He’d never thought of Otabek as boyfriend material. He’d always assumed they saw each other as “just friends.” He’d always thought Beka was so cool, and funny, and kind of a bad ass. Sure, he was one of the hottest people Yuri knew, but everybody thought Beka was hot. Yeah, sometimes when he wrapped his arm around his waist on the bike, it made his stomach flutter. Okay fine, any time he got close to Beka his stomach fluttered like that. 

He didn’t feel like that about anyone else. Maybe he didn’t want to be “just friends.” Maybe he wanted to be Beka’s real boyfriend. What if everybody was right?

Oh shit. 

He unblocked Otabek from his social media, and spent all night staring at three 3 most recent Instagram posts. Yuri was surprised Beka was even using Instagram. He only ever used it when Yuri told him to. But there it was, two posts about the upcoming competition and a video. Yuri was a little hurt that he’d posted a snippet of his program online, and hadn’t even sent it to Yuri first.

Otabek had just gotten his GPF assignments, and they would have two events together. He wanted to reach out to Otabek, let him know the blocking was over, that maybe they could be “friends” again. He liked the video. He thought about commenting as well, saying something sarcastic, but maybe that would be going too far. He waited until it was an acceptable hour in Russia, and re-wrote his text a couple different ways before he finally sent it. 

_Yuri: See ya at NHK._

Otabek didn’t reply with words, instead just sent a smiley face emoji. It infuriated Yuri. Who taught Otabek about emojis?

_Yuri: Can we talk there?_

_Otabek: K_

==

Yuri cornered Otabek after practice. He was throwing on his warm up suit and he raised an eyebrow as Yuri stopped him in the act of zipping up his jacket.

“Why have you been ignoring me?”

Otabek folded his arms. “We’re broken up.” He lowered his voice. “You said we needed to limit our interaction otherwise it would look suspicious.” 

Yuri shook his head and stared back at him. “That didn’t mean texts.”

“Yuri, I feel like...” Otabek looked a little distressed. He was looking over Yuri’s left shoulder at the other skaters. None of them seemed to be paying attention, which meant they were probably listening to every word.

Yuri waited for Otabek to finish his thought, but instead he looked down at his untied shoes. 

“It got a little too real at the end,” he finally said. “It was fun pretending, but when we had to fight--”

“I know,” Yuri admitted. 

“Do you really think we wouldn’t work as a couple?” Otabek said, with a contemplative gaze. 

“NO,” Yuri surprised himself with the volume of his own voice. “That was just me being stupid. I needed a reason for us to break up.”

Otabek stifled a laugh. “I’m sorry I was distant, I did _kinda_ miss you though.”

“Know how you can make it up to me?”

Otabek shook his head and crossed his arms. He seemed to know it was meant as a rhetorical question.

“Take me on a date.”

Otabek looked surprised, but hopeful.

“We’ll tell them we’re back together.” Yuri watched Otabek’s face. The corners of his mouth twitched, in that Otabek way where he was suppressing a smile. He covered it up as quickly as he let it show. 

He frowned and let out a little sigh. “I don’t want to fake it this time.”

Yuri reached forward and fixed Otabek’s collar letting his hand linger on his neck for a moment, before leaning forward. “That’s the idea.”

“Really?” Otabek was fully smiling now.

“Yeah, wanna be my _fake_ fake boyfriend?”

THE END


End file.
